Salmorejo Cordobés (Chilled Córdoba Tomato and Bread Soup)

Gazpacho gets all the attention outside of Spain, but salmorejo is the one I actually crave once the tomatoes at the farmers market turn properly ripe. It comes from Córdoba, in Andalusia, and it’s thicker and richer than gazpacho, closer to a chilled tomato cream than a broth, with bread doing the work of thickening it instead of thinning it out.

The method is almost absurdly simple: ripe tomatoes, day-old bread, garlic, and olive oil, blended until smooth and silky, then chilled until properly cold. It’s traditionally finished with chopped hard-boiled egg and diced Serrano ham on top, which sounds like an odd combination for a cold soup until you taste how well the salty ham and rich egg play against the sweet-tart tomato base.

This lives in the same category as our Ajo Blanco (recipe on the site) and Gazpacho Alentejano (recipe on the site) on the blog, cold soups worth making the moment the weather turns unbearable. A few strips of Boquerones en Vinagre (recipe on the site) on the side wouldn’t hurt either.

Salmorejo Cordobés Recipe

Prep time: 20 minutes, plus 2 hours chilling · Cook time: 0 minutes · Total: 2 hours 20 minutes · Servings: 4 · Calories: ~320 per serving

Ingredients

• 2 lbs ripe tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped (about 6 large)
• 5 oz day-old crusty white bread, crusts removed, torn into chunks (about 3 cups)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped, for garnish
• 4 oz Serrano ham or prosciutto, diced or thinly sliced, for garnish

Instructions

1. Place the torn bread in a bowl and add just enough water to moisten it, about 2 to 3 tablespoons. Let it soften 5 minutes, then squeeze out the excess water.
2. In a blender or food processor, combine the tomatoes, soaked bread, and garlic. Blend until completely smooth, 1 to 2 minutes.
3. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until the mixture emulsifies and turns pale orange and creamy, like a thick smoothie.
4. Add the sherry vinegar and salt, and blend again to combine. Taste and adjust salt or vinegar as needed.
5. For the silkiest texture, pass the soup through a fine-mesh strainer, pressing with a spoon or ladle to remove the tomato skins and seeds.
6. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours, until well chilled.
7. Ladle into bowls, drizzle with olive oil, and top generously with chopped hard-boiled egg and diced Serrano ham.

Recipe Notes

• Salmorejo should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, noticeably heartier than gazpacho. If it seems too thin, blend in another slice of bread.
• Use the ripest, most flavorful tomatoes you can find; this soup lives or dies on tomato quality, so it is best made in peak summer.
• Serrano ham can be found at most grocery store deli counters or specialty markets; prosciutto is a fine stand-in if Serrano is not available.
• Leftovers keep well, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, and the flavor actually improves overnight.